14Jun15

Jihadist rivals continue to battle in Derna, Libya

Earlier this year, one of the Islamic State's so-called "provinces" in Derna,
Libya advertised the opening of a police headquarters and a sharia court. The
move was intended to demonstrate the group's dominance over the city.

But images posted online in the past 24 hours purportedly show the building
under the control of the Islamic State's jihadist rivals in the Mujahideen Shura
Council (MSC), a coalition of several groups. The picture on the right, for
example, was posted on the Libya Observer's Facebook page with a note
saying the MSC had "gained control" of the headquarters.

And, according to multiple reports, this symbol of the Islamic State's
governance efforts is not the only ground the group has lost in the past few
days. According to the Libya Observer, the organization has lost "several of its
headquarters." The Libya Herald reports that the MSC is believed to be in
"control" of "most" of Derna.

The Islamic State's assassination of Nasir Atiyah al Akar, a prominent al
Qaeda-linked jihadist in the MSC, set off this new round of fighting last week.
And it is a battle Abu Bakr al Baghdadi's men risk losing. A few of the Islamic
State's key leaders in Derna have been reportedly killed or captured, but the
details remain murky.

While initial accounts suggest that the Islamic State is losing the fight, it is too
early to declare a victor. There is an ebb and flow to such battles, and the
group has struck back by unleashing its signature suicide bombers in the
heart of the city.

Still, early indications suggest the fighting has not gone the "caliphate's" way.

The MSC alliance and the Abu Salim Martyrs Brigade (ASMB), which is one of
the key groups in the MSC, are assaulting Islamic State positions throughout
the city.

In addition to the police building, the MSC has released a statement claiming
that the Islamic State's fighters have been cleared out of the Bab-Tobruk
neighborhood in Derna. The MSC says the neighborhood was a "stronghold"
for the Islamic State.

The MSC's statement, which was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group,
highlights the different approaches being taken by the rivals. Whereas the
Islamic State's "province" claims to be the only true authority, representing a
top-down totalitarian state, the MSC positions itself as the guardian of the
people.

"Our fight in the past [was] against those who rule with other than what Allah
descended, [and] was to raise the word of Islam," the MSC's statement reads,
according to SITE's translation. Today, the group fights against the
"Kharijites," meaning extremists (a reference to the Islamic State), and "to
defend our city against any tyrannical aggression, whether from the
supporters of [General Khalifa al] Haftar or from the supporters of [Abu Bakr]
al Baghdadi or from whoever."

The MSC calls on the Islamic State's fighters to repent and submit themselves
to a sharia court for judgment, appealing for help from the "parents of the
young boys from among those mischief-doers." The MSC "will - by the grace
of Allah - assist them and re-discipline them with the manner of the straight
path."

The MSC does not want its fighters to seek revenge, ordering its men to stay
out of the Islamic State fighters' homes, "for they have women, children, and
those who have no guilt."

In a separate statement, the MSC calls on foreigners to disown the Islamic
State and join its ranks. The message is clearly aimed at the significant
contingent of foreign fighters in Derna who have fueled the Islamic State's
growth in the city.

Various reports say that protests against the Islamic State were held in Derna
after Friday prayers this past week. Some unconfirmed accounts say that the
Islamic State opened fire on the protesters.

Meanwhile, Islamists and others throughout Libya have voiced their support
for the MSC.

[Source: By Thomas Joscelyn, The Long War Journal, NJ, 14Jun15]

This document has been published on 22Jun15 by the Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights. In accordance with
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